Received my X3+ V3 Review/Details Inside

For anyone who is wondering I did mention it in the first part of the review but I purchase from HIDEvolution and they were honestly very patient with me. I ordered on a Saturday night and noticed nothing hit my card Monday so I called to make sure there were no issues. Turns out my card was getting declined. Ended up having to contact my bank to get them to lift a hold because they thought it was fraudulent. Ended up finally fixing it at 5:20PM on 1/26/15. They actually waited for me to get it resolved to get it shipped out. Unfortunately the FedEx driver went to the facility a little too early and they didn't receive it until the next day. Kudos for them for going out of their way though! Thanks Ted! http://www.hidevolution.com/aorus-x...-6gb-gtx-970m-16g-ram-13-9-qhd-3200x1800.html I emailed them about the speaker issue I was having and they said I could swap it out but since it seemed to not be an issue I didn't take them up on their offer.

So...I have some videos I will upload, most likely raw, to Youtube but I'm going to leave it at this for now. I can't continue my review simply because the unit was defective. The speakers out of the box did not work. I actually started unscrewing the bottom panel to check for loose connections (I can't see BOTH speakers being disconnected) but there's two little warranty type stickers covering the top two screws so I need approval from the reseller before I do that. External speakers work fine so it's not that. I doubt this was caused in shipping especially again, being both not working. Will update after I upload footage.

UPDATE 12:06AM 1/29:
So I thought the no audio thing on both speakers was TOO odd. I figured there must have been something causing it. The old Alienware M17x R3 had this issue on the headphone/optical port where sometimes it would get stuck bridged thinking there were headphones plugged in when in fact there weren't. I plugged in the external speakers about 10 times and it finally started displaying a message saying that a headphone was detected as being plugged in or removed. Looks like it was stuck from the factory. Now I hope this isn't some major issue like the R3 was. They never actually fixed it from the factory they would just do a motherboard swap for you if the issue ever happened. Glad they work. Still shouldn't have had to do that though.

UPDATE 2:48AM 1/29
Received BSOD's directly related to FRAPS. That program has just gone further and further downhill. Recommend just using ShadowPlay's FPS counter.

UPDATE 3:10AM 1/29
Comparison and unboxing video being uploaded.


UPDATE 12:21PM 1/29
Major annoyances with the lid of the screen. I move laptops around quite often and close the lid partway but the switch that detects if the lid is closed is way too aggressive. If you fold it down less than 1/3 the way it will shut off.

UPDATE 10:03PM 1/29
After going through my videos again I noticed that there's a flickering on the Aorus screen. My camera is recording at 1080p@30 so that would explain it. But what doesn't make sense is why the Razer Blade has no flickering at all. Makes me wonder if it's not actually outputting at 60hz on the Aorus for some reason.

UPDATE 11:56AM 1/30
I was up most of last night trying to get ShadowPlay to work so I could record some video of Assassin's Creed Unity. With everything maxed (FXAA on) I am getting minimum of 30fps up to 40fps @ 1080p.

Running Prime95 + Furmark torture test


UPDATE 4:12PM 1/31
Just realized I forgot to add the Fire Strike benchmark scores.
Here you go: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/3954223

UPDATE 7:29 PM 2/6
After playing with this for over a week I am still impressed by the power it has but the creaking is getting worse and it is in more locations than just the screen now. While typing with my palms resting every movement of the palm generates a creaking sound. I am almost fed up with it. They really need to work on the plastics they are using. I adjusted to the touchpad but I am still not liking it. I still regularly miss slide due to there being no endstops for you to know when the touchpad ends and the buttons begin. The Macro keys are more gimmicky than anything. I have had the G keys off this entire time. Never used them once except to configure cut/copy/paste which I haven't used other than the initial time I configured it. I really wanted to like this laptop but I just can't. This excessive creaking is probably just this unit since I don't see many people complaining about it but that mixed with the low quality touchpad, and the LCD screen's hinge moving too easily, in my opinion just kind of ruins it all for me on a $2200 laptop.

If you can get over that it's a nice piece of machinery and I would still recommend it but I would have to recommend the RB 2015 over it even though there is pretty much no user upgradeability in the RB's.

UPDATE 6:45PM 2/7
Not good. The screen near the hinge is scratching the chassis now. I have no idea how I didn't notice this earlier but it looks like it scratched a little chunk out.

 

sorry to here that your laptop is defective are you exchanging it i will check mine properly when it comes

 

Looks like it might be OK. We'll see. I'm going back to making video now.

 

iam going to watch now thanks for uploading

 

very nice review you pretty much coverd everything that needs mentioning can you make another video to show temp and battery life thanks i also like the mate trackpad cover

 

I will include temps in the next video. I had to crash. It was passed 3AM and I needed to be to work by 8. I should be able to get the other video with the benchmarks and temps done tonight.

 

ok thanks LVNeptune

 

Thanks, informative unboxing, and I liked the comparison with the Razer Blade (oh if only that had the internals and matte screen of the X3 Plus V3...)

 

Thanks LVNeptune for the review!
I noticed in your video that the USB port on the left side of laptop shows it as USB 3.0 (blue colored), can you please confirm that?
The reason I'm asking is because I thought the left one is supposed to be USB 2.0, and the right side is supposed to have 2 USB 3.0 ports.

 

They are all USB 3.0 ports. I should have emphasized that, sorry. The main disadvantage to this is people that are downgrading to Windows 7 since Windows 7 doesn't support USB 3.0 and needs drivers but the catch-22 is you can't install the drivers since it is USB 3.0. Now there is an SD port so you should be able to load the drivers via SD card. I can attempt to confirm later.

 

As far as battery life is concerned under light usage, Outlook, Word, remoting into PC's, looks to be about 3.5-4 hours on a full battery. While gaming you should get roughly an hour.

 

yea thats in line with v2 its better than msi gs60 i have 2.5 hours

 

I'm adjusting to the touchpad. Still prefer the Blade touch pad.

 

good review. how do you find the touch pad and is the clicks louder than say a mac book? im sure you said the blade clicks where louder so just trying to get an idea in advance is the p34w doesnt turn out as planned.

thanks

 

Definitely quieter than the Razer Blade. If you click soft it's pretty hard to hear and shouldn't bug anyone. Wife didn't get bugged by my Blade though but she sleeps pretty hard. I really wish there was something separating the bottom part of the touch pad though. Something your finger could hit a bump or something so you know where the track pad actually stops instead of moving the cursor and it just dead stops. Hard to re-adjust without looking right at the track pad. I was thinking of using a small width strip of something so I have something to feel the end of the tracking. The problem is, usually in touch pads like this you can usually use the WHOLE pad but not on this one. =/

 

Thanks for the info. That's about the same as my P650SE. I guess I'll keep waiting for Alienware 15 reviews or the blade refresh. The P35Xv3 has iffy build quality.

 

Ok that sounds promising. I wanna bear to use mine when my wife is around too before she's in bed.
Yea the mouse not being separated is a bit hard to get used to when it's combined like that. Kinda why I like the p34w besides the price difference. I do hope that has subtle clicks. It be the 1st laptop with no track stick I've used that I'd be happy with given its performance.
My w230st was good. But the nose was poor. Not because it clicked a little loud. But because it's surface type was those that wears out and it effects movement. I sold it on before it failed with warranty of course.
Lol I'll free some "extra" funds up just in case for the x3.

Thanks. I'll await another review and see what kind of loudness the fans give etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ok that sounds promising. I wanna bear to use mine when my wife is around too before she's in bed.
Yea the mouse not being separated is a bit hard to get used to when it's combined like that. Kinda why I like the p34w besides the price difference. I do hope that has subtle clicks. It be the 1st laptop with no track stick I've used that I'd be happy with given its performance.
My w230st was good. But the nose was poor. Not because it clicked a little loud. But because it's surface type was those that wears out and it effects movement. I sold it on before it failed with warranty of course.
Lol I'll free some "extra" funds up just in case for the x3.

Thanks. I'll await another review and see what kind of loudness the fans give etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Ok that sounds promising. I wanna bear to use mine when my wife is around too before she's in bed.
Yea the mouse not being separated is a bit hard to get used to when it's combined like that. Kinda why I like the p34w besides the price difference. I do hope that has subtle clicks. It be the 1st laptop with no track stick I've used that I'd be happy with given its performance.
My w230st was good. But the nose was poor. Not because it clicked a little loud. But because it's surface type was those that wears out and it effects movement. I sold it on before it failed with warranty of course.
Lol I'll free some "extra" funds up just in case for the x3.

Thanks. I'll await another review and see what kind of loudness the fans give etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'm guessing you are having the same issue as me due to the forum "upgrade." You submitted the same thing multiple times. http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-other-issues-here.770191/page-7#post-9909860

 

Torture test on CPU/GPU Prime 95 + Furmark uploaded

 

nice video LVNeptune does your laptop squeaks alittle when opening the lip or holding it mine does slightly also gpuz is not showing correct info aswell

 

Yes. Squeak squeak. Wish I knew exactly where it was coming from so I could fix that. I always feel like I'll break it when I hear that .

 

It's definitely quiet - I can game in bed next to the gf and she can't really hear the fans. I've yet to get the fans ramped up except via mnaual control - they don't even full throttle when I game. Quietest gaming laptop I've ever owned/heard, for sure.

I don't use the trackpad so can't really comment. Clicks are virtually inaudible though when I tested just now.

 

Yea. Decided to return the Blade in favor of this. While it has its faults if Razer comes out with a 2015 model that's comparable I will most likely sell this in favor of the Razer. What I would really like to know is if Sharp is making two separate panels matte and glossy or if the "glossy" on the Razer is caused by the glass.

 

I believe so yes.
From what I've gathered from other forum members and laptops that come with this screen.
Matte = no touch screen function.
Glossy = has touch screen function.
Could be totally wrong but that's the impression I get.

 

Razer really needs to add that display port too.
The glossy is due to the glass and for touchscreen purposes.
It has the benefit of increasing the subjective contrast when you're using it but it's a nightmare for fingerprints and outside use.

One of the things about the X3+ I really love is that it has no touch screen and it's matte.
[not having touch screen shaves off a precious 100g which can easily knock a system from 1.9kg to the 2kg territory. 6% difference matters for portability]

 

Lol yeah apart Form that I'm loving this beast also I did a fresh system recovery and it's fixed my issue with msi not reading gpu looks good upto now

 

Updated with Fire Strike benchmark

 

Hi and thank you @LVNeptune !

That's a great review done here, with a lot of details. So glad to see this version of the Aorus X3, even if I am a bit jealous to find this model as I have already order the P34W. QHD screen was tempting but in my country there was no reseller who sell it with a 970M for now.
I will test my luck as I might found P34W build quality more to my taste, and also the I7 4720 (which might be the reason for the better overall result in 3Dmark for the P34W, even if it only have 3gb).
But again thank you for your help and review, glad to know there is people like you on this forum (thanks for the link).

 

Update.

 

@LVNeptune Sad to hear you had to send it back. On the paper it looked a nice alternative to the blade, especially for non US customers. But I agree you cannot put $2k+ on a laptop to have a "cheap feel".

Are you going to buy the blade?

 

I really wanted to like this laptop but I just can't. This excessive creaking is probably just this unit since I don't see many people complaining about it but that mixed with the low quality touchpad, and the LCD screen's hinge moving too easily, in my opinion just kind of ruins it all for me on a $2200 laptop.

I have fixed my Creaking just by tighting my screws my Aorus does not creak no more.

 

Which screws????

 

The ones at the bottom just ajust them slightly lose or tight. And the creacking will go also add some thread lock.

 

What about the screen creak

 

Seriously. If someone can fix the screen creak I'll keep this. I really don't want to downgrade my vram to 3GB on the RB 2015. SoM used 4.5GB and ACU used 5.1GB. 6GB will absolutely be needed for all new games.

 

Updated with pictures of a scratch that is developing. I would suggest anyone with a unit check theirs to see if they are developing scratches in the same place.

 

Might have developed a fix for the creaking issues! Will report back after my trip to Phoenix.

 

holly S mines not like that take it back and Exchange it whats your fix for Creaking.

 

Does any know what size Torx screws Aorus x3 uses.

 

When I look at the Aorus and the Razer side by side and you say "it's the same screen". I'm floored by how much better that same screen looks in the Razer than in the Aorus. Comparing the edge to edge glass look and feel to the cheap plastic seams and bulky bottom bezel on the X3. These are worlds apart in terms of design and build quality.

I also suspect the hinge and durability of the screen on the Razer ends up being sturdier. You could see clear flex in the X3 in your video.


The Aorus has better IO ports (like 2 display ports vs. 1 hdmi and gigabit copper ethernet) compared to the Razer though, which is annoying considering it costs about 1000$ more.

 

Don't forget Arous has 6gb vram compared to RB 3 g vram and extra Msata slot plus cheaper.

 

Same size as V3.

 

Aorus is $2200, the RB w/ 128GB M2 is $2200 and goes up to 2700. Are you referring to pricing in another country?

It is actually the same screen. The panel model numbers are identical.

 

Firestrike Extreme Test:
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/5858298?

Firestrike Ultra Test:
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/5858703?

 

Would you be able to indicate temps during those tests ? Would like to compare those with the Blade 14 2015's =)

I was also hoping the battery life to be decent considering the 73Wh battery, but I guess the QHD screen drains the power faster - any BatteryBar power consumption reading perhaps ? (under normal and/or power saving scenario)

Thanks =)

 

I could but I honestly see no reason to. It will be cooler than the Blade 2015 model. Better cooling.

I am not sure why everyone seems to think the panel drains the battery faster. These are very green panels.

 

Interesting.

Thanks for all the updates and the review!

Could you include some screenshots too? Of the visual physicality of the laptop.

 

Did a "proper" test today. Using "Power Saver" mode in Command&Control I got about 4hours of battery life. This was with Wifi on but not used (using ethernet) and a USB mouse plugged in the whole time and the LCD panel 30% which is still honestly bright enough to work off of even in a brightly lit room.